I think the reason that churches don’t grow is that they are stuck in the past using outdated methods to interpret the Bible.\u00a0 What we need are some new methods.\u00a0 What do you think?<\/p>\n\t
Well, I don’t have anything new – just some very old observations.\u00a0 In fact, it would be hard to find these listed in any book of theology – possibly because they are “obvious” or because they wouldn’t sell on the bookshelves.\u00a0 It is also possible that when they are used correctly, they don’t immediately get to a conclusion.\u00a0 In other words, it does not fit our microwave and litigious society.\u00a0\u00a0 We ultimately want a clean methodology that results in an indisputable answer – and then, of course, we will sit around and dispute the conclusions.\u00a0 Well here are some methodologies that are often used, rarely talked about, and result in clear theology.<\/p>\n
If you have a doctrine that requires that the God of the Old Testament be a different God than the God of the New Testament, then there is something wrong.\u00a0 Many doctrines require that the God of Moses be a condemning God while the God of Jesus is a loving God.\u00a0 That sets up a view of the Bible that pits the Old against the New.\u00a0 Whereas, when you hold them to both be about the same God, you find out a lot more about what is required.\u00a0 The consequence of this is that you have to study the Old almost as much as the New in order to appreciate who God is.<\/p>\n
Many people think that the purpose of religion is to bring comfort to our physical life.\u00a0 They will even point to a passage like Romans 8:31-36 and see that “all good things” are supposed to come to them. They fail to read a few more verses to discover that one of the great “good” things was having Jesus die. \u00a0Jesus dying is only a “good” thing in the spirit world.\u00a0 It was a terrible thing to happen as far as physical things go. People wonder why they did not get rich or why their child got sick or died – all things that are physically “not good”.\u00a0 Ultimately, the Bible needs to be seen through the lens of a spiritual endeavor.\u00a0 Certainly, God has to use the physical to help us who are physically bound understand the spiritual, but we should never lose sight that the goal is spiritual.<\/p>\n
The Bible was written over a 2000-year period with more than 40 authors.\u00a0 Their writings never disagree, but getting to a point of understanding the real meaning sometimes gives the appearance that the Bible is inconsistent.\u00a0 \u00a0It is we who are at fault, though.\u00a0 Don’t overlook the passages that seem to contradict a doctrine that you love.\u00a0 It could be that you are following a doctrine that has not been fully balanced against the Word.<\/p>\n
If you have a doctrine that results in a segment of history where no one had an opportunity to be saved, then is it wrong.\u00a0 This hits hard at those who believe in new revelations.\u00a0 When one claims that the final doctrine was revealed only in 1925 (or whatever date), they are essentially saying that everyone from Jesus’ death until that time is lost with no opportunity for salvation. \u00a0That would make God a respecter of some people and not others.<\/p>\n
A corollary to the previous point is that the Word crosses all national cultures and can be applied consistently to all people \u00a0 There are huge controversies on what is meant in I Corinthians 11 about head coverings.\u00a0 However you look at that passage, if you conclude that some women can’t be saved because their hair will not grow long, then you have to go back and look at it again.\u00a0God made those women and He doesn’t put anyone in a place where they can’t be saved.<\/p>\n
This one is the hardest for those with a limited outlook on what God wants from us.\u00a0 Take for example, “love”.\u00a0 It is commanded – which makes it sound like it is being coerced.\u00a0 If you think of it as only a command, then the next step is to determine a boundary for enough love because you will want to know when you can check it off of your list of accomplishments.\u00a0 If we cannot achieve infinite love, we will see ourselves as failures – which would motivate us to do less and not more.\u00a0 However, if you realize that love is a principle, you also realize that it is a goal to grow to.\u00a0 You celebrate when you love more than before.\u00a0 \u00a0There is no remorse just because you cannot attain what really is unattainable.\u00a0\u00a0 A command can be given because we are of a limited understanding of the Spirit and if He used any word other than “command,” we would interpret it as optional.\u00a0 The commands are not optional, but at the same time, you cannot justify yourself because you were just following a command. A command as a principle requires you to think<\/strong>.\u00a0 That was the Pharisees’ problem.\u00a0 They saw the commands of God as the end goal.\u00a0 Righteousness is the goal.\u00a0 Righteousness is following all of the principles.<\/p>\n Darrell Hamilton<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Question: I think the reason that churches don’t grow is that they are stuck in the past using outdated methods to interpret the Bible.\u00a0 What we need are some new methods.\u00a0 What do you think? Answer: Well, I don’t have anything new – just some very old observations.\u00a0 In fact, it would be hard to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[529,530,964],"class_list":["post-52478","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-hermeneutics","tag-interpretation","tag-understanding-the-bible"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5770,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-is-the-best-way-to-study-the-bible\/","url_meta":{"origin":52478,"position":0},"title":"What is the best way to study the Bible?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 6, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: When studying the Bible or a topic, such as baptism, what is the best way? Is it with a particular Bible version, such as the King James, New King James, or the New International Version, with no commentary and a concordance as a Bible aid? My church has recently\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":23662,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-can-i-memorize-more-of-the-bible\/","url_meta":{"origin":52478,"position":1},"title":"How can I memorize more of the Bible?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 2, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: When I read the Bible, I find that I can only memorize very limited verses, or just remember the verses should be in which book, but cannot find where exactly it is. About four years have passed, but it seems not much improvement. I really want to know more\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":84895,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/women-the-bible-and-necessary-inference\/","url_meta":{"origin":52478,"position":2},"title":"Women, the Bible, and Necessary Inference","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 22, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Perry Hall When it comes to religion, people throw out common sense. That is one of my observations regarding hermeneutics, the way we interpret Scripture. For example, women use necessary inference as one of their main methods of communication. And yet, when interpreting the Bible - and someone mentions\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8953,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-a-sin-not-to-attend-wednesday-night-bible-study\/","url_meta":{"origin":52478,"position":3},"title":"Is it a sin not to attend Wednesday night Bible study?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 9, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I'm a member of the church have been all my life. I was wondering how important you think Wednesday night services are? Some people don't think you have to go on Wednesday night, some say when the Bible says not to forsake the assembly it means Sunday morning. I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":53962,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/do-you-know-of-good-inductive-study-guides\/","url_meta":{"origin":52478,"position":4},"title":"Do you know of good Inductive Study guides?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 23, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Does anyone know a good Inductive Study Guide for study on how to learn the Scripture? I know there are items out there, but I was trying to locate one that members of the Church of Christ have reviewed and found to be of sound teaching. So many folks\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Inductive4-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Inductive4-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Inductive4-scaled.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Inductive4-scaled.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Inductive4-scaled.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Inductive4-scaled.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":49264,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-the-language-in-which-the-bible-is-read-change-the-way-we-interpret-certain-passages\/","url_meta":{"origin":52478,"position":5},"title":"Does the language in which the Bible is read change the way we interpret certain passages?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 8, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have a question about the Bible that I'd like to ask. 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